New Haven Guardian unit tours Norwalk streets

Published
8:00 pm EDT, Friday, July 11, 2008

NORWALK

By AMANDA NORRIS

and HAROLD F. COBIN

Hour Staff Writer and Hour Correspondent

On their third visit to the city, members of the Guardian Angels walked through several housing projects and visited the city's emergency shelter in South Norwalk, talking with residents and asking questions about levels of crime.

With backgrounds in the military, the five men from the Angels' New Haven chapter toured the area in the form of an Army patrol, walking in a line five meters apart, with a point man spotting what was ahead and the man in the rear looking back for any threats.

The men on each end communicated with two-way radios.

"Watch the windows, watch the windows," point man Sausage called to Brooksy at the end of the line as the group walked through Monterey Village, a housing project off of Grove Street commonly known as Carlton Court.

All the man identified themselves by street names.

Sausage, 48, remarked he was hot having to wear his red satin Guardian Angels jacket, which covered his ballistic vest.

The five said they hoped their visit would attract interest in establishing a Guardian Angels chapter here.

Alluding to the cold shoulder Mayor Richard A. Moccia and Police Chief Harry W. Rilling have given to the idea of a local Angels chapter, member Taxi said their visit would show what their intentions are.

Taxi, 50, said he believes the community knows more about crime and the benefits of having a Guardian Angels chapter here than city officials because, "they're not living here."

"Why wouldn't they want the Angels in South Norwalk to help out law enforcement at no cost to them?" asked Sausage, a member of the group for a year.

"Please come to South Norwalk," said Bridget Williams, a Woodward Avenue resident who spotted the Angels on Monroe Street and approached them.

Williams said she welcomed the Angels and was ready to sign a petition if that would lead to lead a chapter here.

"Where they are, there's hope," said former Norwalk police officer Donnie Sellers about the Angels.

Referring to South Norwalk, Sellers, who is spearheading the effort for a local Angels chapter, said, "Here are the streets of hard knocks, and that's

why we need the Angels." Regarding Moccia and Rilling's opposition, Sellers said, "There may be small pockets of resistance against doing the right thing."

Fifteen-year-old Jomar Addison, a resident of the King-Kennedy housing project on Chestnut Street, bounded up to the Guardian Angels, shouting, "Guardian Angels, I've seen you in Westport."

Addison was more subdued in speaking to The Hour, but said he felt good about the Guardian Angels being in his neighborhood, "because they help people."

Most of the response to the Angels was positive, with residents of King-Kennedy and young men

on the basketball courts behind Columbus Magnet School offering greetings and answering questions about crime -- specifically drug sales -- in the neighborhood.

Residents of the shelter reacted with relief and enthusiasm to what they perceived as an added security presence in the area.

"I am very glad they're here," one said, "because finally now I know that somebody is going to be around for protection, because as a woman -- specifically a white woman -- in Norwalk, Connecticut -- specifically South Norwalk, Connecticut -- it is not safe."

Another shelter resident was outspoken in his doubts about the effectiveness of an unarmed patrol organization.

"How much of an impact can they have?" Robert Ness asked. "They don't even have guns. Cops are being shot at now, and (the Angels) don't even have guns. What can they do?"

Evan Kave, a resident of the Washington Village public housing project on Water Street, told an Angel he does everything he can to set a positive example for the youths who live there, but he was very disturbed at the amount of guns they had access to.

"It's not the drugs, it's the guns. You have no idea how many guns they have here," Kave said. "I have no idea where they are getting them, but they are picking them up like candy."

Al Raymond, of the Coalition of Norwalk Neighborhoods, accompanied the Angels Friday because he and Dianne Witkowsky, also of the coalition, are doing a study on alternative aids for the police department.

Raymond said he noticed the Angels had collected some intelligence on South Norwalk, but questioned its accuracy.

"They are getting information," said Raymond, "but one thing I have noticed is that they are not from the area and they are relying on people to tell them things, but a lot of the information they're getting is wrong."

Contacted Friday afternoon about the Angels' pending visit, Rilling said he'll take a wait-and-see attitude if a chapter forms here. He said, based on conversations he's had with law enforcement officials in communities where chapters have existed, "They were quick to disappear."

Rilling said members of the Common Council interested in having a Guardian Angels chapter in Norwalk should be careful not to have the city establish a

formal relationship with them. He said in the event someone files a lawsuit against them, the person might also sue the city on the grounds they were acting as agents of the city.

The Guardian Angels organization was founded in February 1979 in New York City by Curtis Sliwa to be a citizens' crime patrol. They are widely known for wearing red berets.

Sliwa spoke before the Common Council in May about forming a Norwalk chapter.